BlackBerry App World opens to PlayBook tablet applications

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) opened its BlackBerry App World vendor portal to applications optimized for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. To foster developer interest in writing for the iPad rival, RIM will give a free tablet to any registered developer who submits a qualifying BlackBerry PlayBook app accepted to the storefront prior to the device's North American product launch; RIM adds that while partners are encouraged to submit multiple apps, there is a limit of one free BlackBerry PlayBook per developer in BlackBerry App World. For additional information, click here.

RIM issued v0.9.1 of its BlackBerry Tablet OS software development kit beta for Adobe AIR last week, touting API tweaks as well as multiple UI Component bug fixes. Available for download here, the revamped SDK includes Installer support for Windows 64-bit, Simulator and BlackBerry OS SDK for Adobe support for Linux and Flash Builder 4.5 support. RIM first issued the BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK in late October. According to RIM, the PlayBook tablet device integrates both AIR 2.5 and Adobe Flash Player 10.1 at its core, combining with the tablet's 1 GHz dual-core processor, true symmetric multiprocessing and multi-threaded rendering to promise developers a platform for delivering rich content and applications bolstered by responsive and seamless touchscreen experiences.

Research In Motion unveiled the PlayBook tablet in September, promising a seven-inch LCD touchscreen, dual HD cameras and WiFi/Bluetooth 2.1 support, with 3G and 4G models forthcoming. The BlackBerry Tablet OS is built upon the QNX Neutrino microkernel architecture and boasts full POSIX compliance, offering developers easy portability of C-based code alongside support for Open GL for 2D and 3D graphics-intensive applications (e.g., gaming). RIM notes the Tablet OS also supports Java, enabling developers to translate existing BlackBerry 6 apps to the PlayBook format. RIM later confirmed the BlackBerry Tablet OS eventually will replace its current BlackBerry smartphone operating system across all devices the company produces, although the transition is likely to take several years.

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